Three days after burying her children, blaze victim bids farewell to husband

The service for Thomas Sharkey snr at Cardross Crematorium in Dumbarton was held three days after his son, Thomas jnr, and daughter, Bridget, were buried.

Mr Sharkey died of pneumonia caused by smoke inhalation six days after the fire at his home in Scott Court, Helensburgh, on 24 July.

His 21-year-old son died at the scene and eight-year-old Bridget died on the way to Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley.

Mr Sharkey had been able to climb on to a windowsill of the burning flat, but suffered severe burns and died in Glasgow Royal Informary after being informed of the death of his children.

In the aftermath, his wife, Angela, 46, the sole survivor, was so heavily sedated that she thought she was speaking to her son in the burns unit of the infirmary, and refused to believe her sister, Margaret, on being told her family was dead.

The funeral cortege passed through the Sharkeys’ home town on the way to the crematorium for a humanist service yesterday.

A bunch of red roses lay on top of the coffin and a lone piper played as the hearse entered the grounds where about 500 mourners had arrived to pay their respects.

The service for Mr Sharkey was led by Sheena Johnstone and began with the song Rhythm Of My Heart by Rod Stewart.

The end of the service was marked with You’ll Never Walk Alone by Gerry And The Pacemakers, then a large round of applause.

Mrs Sharkey was comforted by family members as she left.

Mr Sharkey was well-known in the local community and had helped to raise thousands of pounds for Yorkhill Royal Hospital for Sick Children.

He also helped stage fundraising events to benefit the families of unwell children in the Helensburgh area.

Police are treating the three deaths as murder, but despite high-profile coverage of the tragedy, no-one has been charged in connection with the incident.

The blaze was featured on BBC’s Crimewatch programme in September with an appeal from Mrs Sharkey.

She said then: “I have no idea why anyone would want to do this to me and my family. It’s just so unfair that they’re gone.

“It’s still sinking in, obviously. But I’ve got to face it. It’ll be made easier if I have a reason or somebody can explain to me why they felt the need to go this far.”

Police said there had been a positive response to the Crimewatch appeal.

However, they still want to trace two people seen in the local area in Helensburgh around the time of the fire in the early hours.

One was seen in John Street, walking across West Princes Street, and the other was seen entering a lane known locally as Rowatt’s Lane.

The funeral of Thomas jnr and Bridget took place on Friday at St Joseph’s Church in Helensburgh. About 600 people attended the mass.

Bridget was a pupil at St Joseph’s primary school. Head-teacher Ann Chalmers described her as “a beautiful child, very talented, an excellent all-rounder and enthusiastic pupil”.

Thomas jnr won a golf scholarship to Georgia Southern University in the United States after he left Our Lady and St Patrick’s High School in Dumbarton in 2008.

In the order of service for her children’s funeral Mrs Sharkey thanked those who had passed on their condolences since July.